News Exclusives

Snoop Dogg Removes Most Of Death Row’s Catalogue From DSPs

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Last month, things began to take a futuristic turn for Death ROw Records, with former label signee Snoop Dogg taking ownership of the label and soon after said that the “world’s most dangerous recordlabel” would be made into an NFT. To further solidify that, the Dogg has now removed all of Death Row’s previous recordings from all streaming platforms.

Even though the report stems from a Wikipedia page, upon close examination of Death Row recordings on all DSPs including those from Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, all of access to these songs and albums on public streaming platforms have been removed. Death Row labeled classic albums like Doggystyle, Dogg Food, the Above The Rim soundtrack, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and more are no longer available.

Snoop discussed the idea of bringing the Death Row label into the metaverse in a Clubhouse conversation, saying, “Death Row will be an NFT label,” he said.“We will be putting out artists through the metaverse. Just like we broke the industry when we was the first independent to be major, I want to be the first major in the metaverse.”

Even though Snoop hasn’t publicly addressed the disappearance of the Death Row projects, but fans have certainly expressed their displeasure in the absence of some of Hip Hop’s most revered classics.

One Clubhouse participant said, “So, thanks to Snoop Dogg promoting NFT shit and making Death Row Records an NFT record label, all the releases except 2Pac’s, will be removed from Spotify and so on. This is actually bullshit, that means no more Dre’s Chronic on Spotify. NFTs need to die, fucking stupid movement.”

The post Snoop Dogg Removes Most Of Death Row’s Catalogue From DSPs appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip Hop History: Kool G. Rap And DJ Polo Dropped Their Debut LP ‘Road To The Riches’ 33 Years Ago

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On this date in 1989, Corona, Queens rap and street legend Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo released their very first album on the quintessential, yet now-defunct Hip-Hop label Cold Chillin’ Records.

As esteemed members of the world-famous, Queens-based Juice Crew, G. Rap and Polo dropped this project as one of the first full-length albums from the crew, only to succeed Big Daddy Kane’s Long Live The Kane and Biz Markie’s Goin’ Off albums. the Marley Marl-produced album is one of NYC’s crime rhyme holy grails, with tracks like “Road To The Riches” as a theme song for late 80s hustlers, but the majority of the album showcased G. Rap’s uncanny rapping ability. Tracks like “Men At Work”, “Poison” and their premiere track “It’s A Demo” were proof three decades ago that G’s style would be pioneering in the rap game, to say the least.

Salute to G. Rap, Polo, Marley, Fly Ty, and the rest of the Juice Crew and Cold Chillin’ staff for this important piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today in Hip Hop History: Kool G. Rap And DJ Polo Dropped Their Debut LP ‘Road To The Riches’ 33 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] Quavo Wants Wesley Snipes’ Role In ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Reboot With Jack Harlow

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Many fans and celebs know of Quavo’s b-ball skills, but now, the Migos front man wants to take his hoop dreams to the silver screen alongside rapper jack Harlow in White Men Can’t Jump reboot.

With the starring roles originally played by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, White Men Can’t Jump tells the story of two on-court rivals who put their differences aside to hit the court together to hustle other playground stars for their money.

When asked about the upcoming reboot by TMZ, Huncho said, “I think they need to call me, so me and Jack Harlow can do it. I need to play Wesley Snipes’ role.”

The post [WATCH] Quavo Wants Wesley Snipes’ Role In ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Reboot With Jack Harlow appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Cult Classic Flick ‘CB4’ Opened In Theaters 29 Years Ago

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On this date 29 years ago, Gusto and the gang shows us what gangsta Hip-Hop is all about.

In 1993, Chris Rock, Allen Payne and Charlie Murphy gave their own take of how things go down behind the scenes with gangsta rappers vs. real-life gangsters in the comedy flick CB4. Directed by and starring Rock, CB4 was a parody that pokes fun at “the world’s most dangerous group” N.W.A. and features several Hip Hop notables including Ice-T, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav and the late Eazy-E.

Murphy, who played the role of “Gusto”, is a certified “G’ who is “three generations deep in gangsterdom.” Rock, who plays up and coming rapper Albert Brown from “LoCash” California, jack Gusto’s gangster look, background and persona, becoming MC Gusto after the “gangsta” Gusto went to prison. The group that Rock’s character formed, who were called CB4, which stood for gangsta Gusto’s prison location ‘Cell Block 4″, took the rap world by storm until reality hit; Gusto gets out of jail.

Salute to Rock, Charlie Murphy (RIP), Allen Payne and even Daddy-O of Stetsasonic, who was the rapper for CB4’s hits “Straight Outta LoCash” and “Sweat From My Balls.” CB4 is definitely a comedic learning tool and will forever be a piece of Hip-Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Cult Classic Flick ‘CB4’ Opened In Theaters 29 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

BX Drill Rapper C Blu’s Gun Charge Moved To Juvenile Court, Judge Calls Calls Cops’ Testimony “Unreliable”

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Earlier this week, 16-year-old Camrin Williams aka C Blu, a NYC drill rapper, managed to slip through the cracks of the criminal justice system after a Bronx judge moved the young rapper’s case to family court, citing that an “unreliable” and “self serving” officer illegally searched the teen before he was arrested.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Sema made the transfer of the case from adult court to family/juvenile court after she made it clear that she saw no reason for the officers to search the teen.

‘There was absolutely zero reason for any of those officers to approach this individual,” Judge Semaj reportedly said. “They approached him, they detained him, they searched him, and no officer even bothered to come up with a halfway legitimate reason for any of that.”

Blu was initially charged as an adult with criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and other weapons charges, but is now facing charges of shooting a police officer as a juvenile.

Blu was arrested on January 18 following a physical altercation in which 27-year-old Officer Kaseem Pennant was shot in the groin during the search. According to Judge Semaj, Williams did everything to cooperate with the officers.

“While there is no disputing the fact that Mr. Williams had a gun on him that night… He literally does everything you tell your child to do when they’re approached by cops. He literally kept his hands up. He literally tried to record to make sure there was proof. He answered questions he had no obligation to answer.”

The 16-year-old emcee, who is allegedly has ties to the Crips, used the $250,000 advance from his Interscope Records deal to post bail following the arrest. Williams is still on probation from a 2020 gun possession arrest. 

Rather than a Bronx District Attorney, the city’s law department will now decide Williams’ fate and judge will finalize Blu’s case instead of a traditional jury.

The post BX Drill Rapper C Blu’s Gun Charge Moved To Juvenile Court, Judge Calls Calls Cops’ Testimony “Unreliable” appeared first on The Source.

BX Drill Rapper C Blu’s Gun Charge Moved To Juvenile Court, Judge Calls Calls Cops’ Testimony “Unreliable”

by
Screen Shot 2022 03 11 at 1.32.51 AM

Earlier this week, 16-year-old Camrin Williams aka C Blu, a NYC drill rapper, managed to slip through the cracks of the criminal justice system after a Bronx judge moved the young rapper’s case to family court, citing that an “unreliable” and “self serving” officer illegally searched the teen before he was arrested.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Sema made the transfer of the case from adult court to family/juvenile court after she made it clear that she saw no reason for the officers to search the teen.

‘There was absolutely zero reason for any of those officers to approach this individual,” Judge Semaj reportedly said. “They approached him, they detained him, they searched him, and no officer even bothered to come up with a halfway legitimate reason for any of that.”

Blu was initially charged as an adult with criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and other weapons charges, but is now facing charges of shooting a police officer as a juvenile.

Blu was arrested on January 18 following a physical altercation in which 27-year-old Officer Kaseem Pennant was shot in the groin during the search. According to Judge Semaj, Williams did everything to cooperate with the officers.

“While there is no disputing the fact that Mr. Williams had a gun on him that night… He literally does everything you tell your child to do when they’re approached by cops. He literally kept his hands up. He literally tried to record to make sure there was proof. He answered questions he had no obligation to answer.”

The 16-year-old emcee, who is allegedly has ties to the Crips, used the $250,000 advance from his Interscope Records deal to post bail following the arrest. Williams is still on probation from a 2020 gun possession arrest. 

Rather than a Bronx District Attorney, the city’s law department will now decide Williams’ fate and judge will finalize Blu’s case instead of a traditional jury.

The post BX Drill Rapper C Blu’s Gun Charge Moved To Juvenile Court, Judge Calls Calls Cops’ Testimony “Unreliable” appeared first on The Source.

[LISTEN] Bank of America’s 911 Call About Ryan Coogler Released

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After the uproar and criticism over Black Panther director Ryan Coogler being detained in Bank of America after requesting a discreet $12K withdrawal, the audio of the 911 call placed by the BOA teller in Atlanta has now been released.

The BOA called 911 because they assumed Coogler was trying to rob the bank after he handed her a note that said, “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.” Even though Coogler gave the teller his California I.D. which matched his bank debit car, the manager told her to call 911. 

Coogler addressed the situation, telling TMZ, “This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.” 

The post [LISTEN] Bank of America’s 911 Call About Ryan Coogler Released appeared first on The Source.

Fat Joe Recounts Uniting BTNH And Biggie For “Notorious Thugs” Collaboration

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In a classic #ThrowbackThursday post on IG, BX legend Fat Joe posted a reflection of himself, Diddy, Lil Kim, Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs N Harmony shortly before the timeless studio session between the King of New York and the Cleveland quartet.

Posted on the 25th anniversary of Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace’s untimely death, Joe captioned the flick, “Fun fact i got a call from BIG and he said joe i need your boys BONE on a song,” adding, “I said say no more BONE N BIGGIE BONE N BIGGIE. I love you BIG we will never forget you 25 years later we will never forget THE KING OF NY.”

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Produced by then Bad Boy Hitman and now reality star, Stevie J, the song “Notorious Thugs” on the Life After Death album had a hidden gem. In it, Biggie maintained that his beef with “You Know Who” was really not what everyone pumped it up to be. Which was cool because at the time Bone was known to be close to ‘Pac (who the statement was made about) and had performed on a song earlier.

The post Fat Joe Recounts Uniting BTNH And Biggie For “Notorious Thugs” Collaboration appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Scarface’s Fourth LP ‘The Untouchable’ Turns 25 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Geto Boys frontman and Texas legend Scarface released his fourth solo LP, The Untouchable. Released on Rap-A-Lot Records, this album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also peaked at #1 on the Top Hip-Hop/R&B and kept its spot for two weeks.

Although Scarface never really strayed away from his staple hardcore “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster” subject matter and style of delivery, it’s apparent this album is influenced by the G-Funk sound made popular by Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Dogg Pound.

The album’s most popular track “Smile” featuring 2Pac was released shortly after his murder and peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Scarface’s Fourth LP ‘The Untouchable’ Turns 25 Years Old! appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Suge Knight Joked About Eazy-E’s AIDS-Related Death 19 Years Ago

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Today in 2003, former Death Row CEO Suge Knight appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after his nine-year prison bid and made a shocking insinuation about the AIDS-related death of N.W.A. and Ruthless Records founder Eric “Eazy-E” Wright in 1995.

Kimmel and his crowd jeered and cringed as Knight chuckled at his cruel joke, while the late-night talk show host played it off with a one-liner about the terror level going up a notch after Knight’s mention of the gangsta rap pioneer.

The former Death Row CEO landed himself back in prison a decade following this interview. Karma is a bitch,

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Suge Knight Joked About Eazy-E’s AIDS-Related Death 19 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.